


Black String of Death

by Flux_Uchiha



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: BAMF Nara Shikamaru, Bakugo appears for like twenty seconds, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Killing is not advised in MHA, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Nara Shikamaru Reincarnated into Midoriya Izuku, Nara Shikamaru-centric, Reincarnation, Shika's very smart, Shikamaru gets fed up then decides to transfer schools, Shikamaru wouldn't accept such a stupid quirk anyway, he figures out Shinso's quirk like ten seconds after meeting him, he gets his own quirk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29194440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flux_Uchiha/pseuds/Flux_Uchiha
Summary: Shikamaru, having been reincarnated into one Midoriya Izuku, is perfectly fine with this. No matter the stupidity of this world, he'd live. Plus people weren't nearly as expecting of him. They were in school until 18 after all, which was mildly ridiculous.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru & Midoriya Inko, Nara Shikamaru & Shinsou Hitoshi
Comments: 55
Kudos: 367





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Meet Black String of Death. Don’t ask why it’s named that I don’t really know. It just is. Deal with it. Have reincarnated Shikamaru. 

Shikamaru decided he liked being a baby. He could just nap all day and no one found a problem with it. His mother seemed to rather like the fact he was a very quiet child, only ever making noise when he needed something. 

His mother’s friend seemed to agree with the sentiment, often leaving her child to play with him while she complained good-naturedly to his mother. 

Katsuki, as Shikamaru had heard him called, was indeed very loud, consistently deafening Shikamaru with his screeching. 

Unfortunately, the deafening did not stop when they grew up. At four, when Katsuki developed a quirk and Shikamaru seemingly did not, it turned into bullying. Shikamaru had a quirk, the Shadow Manipulation he’d had in his own world, but he allowed them to think he was quirkless. It was less work; and honestly, he didn’t care. Shikamaru ignored and/or slept through it until the first week of middle school, when Katsuki decided it’d be a good idea to burn one of his notebooks. 

Shikamaru eyed the ashes and decided enough was enough. It was about time he retaliated. He had liked that notebook. 

First was the random strings the boys would trip over all the time. They looked like they were made out of fishing line, nearly invisible. 

Then spectacularly well placed holes, also tripping the boys all the time. 

Their homework was mysteriously changed, their lunch accounts out of money, their tests harder than the rest of the class, their class scores dropping fast. 

As a grand finale, Shikamaru used a dinner they had at the Bakugo’s to swap Katsuki’s shampoo for one that would dye his hair bright pink. 

Needless to say, the fallout of that one was glorious. Shikamaru thought that Asuma would have appreciated it. 

Shikamaru finished toying with them a week later, and went to his mom. 

“Mother, I request to switch schools.” 

“Oh? Why is that dear?” Inko asked, looking rather worried. 

“A minor bullying issue,” Shikamaru said, smirking slightly. “While it has been taken care of, I would prefer to move schools.” 

Inko sighed, but nodded. “Whatever am I going to do with you, my smart problem child?” 

“Let me nap for the rest of the afternoon,” Shikamaru groaned, flopping down on the couch. “Revenge is tiring, and I missed out on sleep.” 

Inko chuckled. “I’ll look at a couple of schools. Don’t forget to straighten up your room.” 

Shikamaru yawned in response, falling asleep almost instantly. He liked sleeping. 

His new school was slightly larger and nicer than his old one, although that wasn’t too high of a bar. He followed the crowd to his assigned classroom, standing near the front until the teacher saw fit to assign him a seat. Then he could take a nice nap. 

“Alright, class,” the teacher said, the class mostly quieting down. “This is our new student, Izuku Midoriya, treat him well please. Izuku, you may select any open seat you wish.” 

He nodded, yawning. He scanned the classroom, zeroing in on a purple-haired kid sitting alone in the back at least a seat away from everyone else. Shikamaru immediately plopped down next to him, putting his head on his desk and starting to doze. 

He was rather surprised when the kid didn't try to talk to him the entire day, despite the fact that he was sitting right there. Either the kid was mute, shy, or thought Shikamaru was either scary or would bite him. 

He realized why the kid wasn’t trying to talk to him when the teacher paired the class up to work on a worksheet. 

“Alright everyone, the person on your left is who you’re working with, alright? Pair off and start working!” She approached Shikamaru and the kid in the back, leaning down to whisper to Shikamaru, “you can pick another partner if you want, I won’t mind.’ 

Shikamaru heard one hitch in the kid’s breathing next to him, and immediately decided to decline. “No, that’s alright. Too troublesome to move anyway.” The teacher left, and Shikamaru turned to his new partner. “You can call me Shika,” he introduced himself. 

“Shinso Hitoshi,” the kid replied quietly, a soft expression of hope crossing his face, only to be slammed down by a forced disinterest. 

An awkward silence ensued while the two quietly worked on their own papers. Shikamaru made a mental note to ask if the kid was quirkless. Maybe later though. 

While a couple other quiet pairs were reminded to talk to their partners, Shikamaru suddenly noticed that he and Shinso had yet to be asked. Once he realized that, quirkless was quickly ruled out. It was probably some sort of voice quirk. Perhaps a mental one. Continuing that train of thought, with how the others refused to speak to him, and the caution with which even the teacher treated him, the quirk had to be something that could be considered dangerous. 

It couldn’t be destruction of the mind or anything similarly destruction or death/coma-inducing, they’d likely have him muzzled if that was the case. A gruesome option, but a correct assumption. Perhaps it was mind control. Voice triggered mind control. That sounded about right. He’d ask after the assignment. Or at lunch. Probably at lunch. 

Shikamaru finished the assignment, moving his paper over to Shinso’s desk for the other kid to check his work. All of Shikamaru’s answers were correct, they always were, and they had to collaborate somehow. He didn’t want to get either of them bad marks. 

At lunch he ignored any attempts to get him away from Shinso, any offers to sit with other people, and sat with Shinso. 

As his opinion had clearly been made already, they left him alone after that. Shikamaru was grateful, he wanted to eat his lunch, then nap. 

Which he did, after finishing his lunch, the rest of the break was spent half napping on the table. 

Right as lunch was about to end, Shikamaru propped his head upon his arms. “What is your quirk?” 

Shinso froze, the final bite of his food falling back into the bento. He unfroze after a moment and firmly stuffed the final bite into his mouth, refusing to reply. 

It looked like Shikamaru had to force his hand. Troublesome. “You have a voice-activated mental quirk, right?” 

Shinso’s surprise told him he was right. As brief as the expression was, Shikamaru had already been proven right. After a moment, Shinso nodded stiffly. 

“Mind control?” Shikamaru guessed next, quickly before the other boy left. 

“Brainwashing,” he muttered quietly before hurrying off. Shikamaru watched him go lazily, content to let the other boy settle down before he confronted him again. 

The quirk itself wasn’t a surprise, not from the way everyone else treated Shinso. He’d wait to speak to the boy again until tomorrow, and keep an eye on him until then. He needed to know a bit more about him before he would make his move. He also needed to know who he was going to target. A Nara he may be, but he loved a challenge. And he didn’t want to be too bored at school. 

He sat back down next to Shinso, but didn’t talk to him for the time being. He would leave Shinso to himself for now. Like leaving Hidan to stew for a week before attacking. Except less revenge involved. He was about done with revenge, even if it had only been one time. 

The next day, he sat down in the seat next to Shinso again, ignoring the other boy’s surprise in favor of putting his head down on the desk for a nap. If Shinso wanted to talk, he’d talk. Shikamaru had sleeping to do. 

Shinso didn’t speak during the class period, but did sit down next to Shikamaru at lunch, albeit poised like he was ready to flee at any moment. 

Shikamaru just finished his lunch in record time, then laid his head down on his arms. He wasn’t actually sleeping, but he gave the appearance of it, slowing his breathing down to make it seem like he actually was asleep. 

He could feel Shinso giving him strange looks, but ignored it. He’d interact with the other boy only when he was interacted with. 

It was a week of silence before Shinso finally cracked. Honestly, Shikamaru had expected it to take longer, but who was he to judge. 

“You’re still here.” 

A question, disguised as a statement. The activation of his quirk had to be based around questions, no one else would start with a statement. Any other person would open with a question of why Shikamaru was still there. 

“I am,” Shikamaru agreed lazily, yawning. 

Shinso stared at him for a long moment as if he expected Shikamaru to explain why. Shikamaru wasn’t going to explain until he was asked about it however. This wasn’t just a matter of lazy, if he was going to speak to Shinso and be his friend, he was going to need Shinso to speak freely. 

They watched each other for a while before Shinso seemed to get up the courage. “W-wh-why,” he paused, coughing a few times. 

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. “Why what?” 

“Why are you still here,” Shinso mumbled out quickly, looking away from him. 

Shikamaru blinked lazily at him. “Where else would I be?” 

“I-I don’t know, with someone who isn’t destined to grow up to be a… v-villain?” At the last part his shoulders hunched inward as if in an attempt to protect himself. The last part of the sentence had sounded like he’d heard the words a million times. It was concerning to say the least. 

Shikamaru debated whether he wanted to deal with that right now or not. Probably not. He’d have to work on it though. “Are your parents villains?” He asked instead. 

“They can’t be, they’re…” Shinso trailed off, and Shikamaru assumed they were dead. 

“Are you currently being groomed to be a villain?” Shikamaru asked, propping his head up on one hand. 

Shinso looked extremely confused, but shook his head. 

“Are you in contact with villains?” Shikamaru continued. “Giving intelligence to an unknown organization?” 

Shinso shook his head again. 

“Are you a traitor? Have you killed anyone?” 

Another no. 

“Then they have no way of knowing if you’ll be a villain when you grow up,” Shikamaru said firmly. He dropped his head back onto his arms. 

“B-but my quirk,” Shinso murmured under his breath. 

“What about it?” Shikamaru asked, feigning confusion. He knew exactly why people would consider it villainous, but he’d grown up with a girl who would grow up to do much worse. He’d killed people, he’d buried them under twenty feet of rocks. He’d watched friends die, watched his teacher die, then had gotten revenge. 

It would take a lot more than a brainwashing quirk to make him think someone was a villain. 


	2. Chapter 2

The bell rang with impeccable timing. Shikamaru got up, packing away his lunch. “Until you do something truly villainous, you have no right to call yourself a villain. Leave the title to those who deserve it.” 

Shikamaru sat down in his usual seat, and put his head down on his arms to nap. Giving encouraging lectures was tiring, how did Naruto do it all the time? 

Shinso sat next to him, clearly deep in thought. So Shikamaru let him be, even participating in class to get any attention off of him. Not that the teacher called on Shinso in the first place. 

In the end, upon being asked what they wanted to do when they grew up, Shikamaru listed what he thought would be the least boring, being a hero. It’d be troublesome, but no more than being a shinobi was, and it’d be interesting. Shinso too wanted to be a hero, although Shikamaru suspected it was 85% out of complete spite. 

Not that spite wasn’t a good motivator. It was, clearly, although Shikamaru figured that even if it was just straight spite, Shinso being a hero would be a good thing for this world. They were all stupid anyway. 

Shikamaru was not at all impressed by the ‘ran into a pole’ excuse Shinso gave the next day when he came in with a massive bruise across his jaw. 

He may not have a truth telling quirk, but he’d known Ino, he could tell if someone was lying. And that bruise didn’t look like it was from a pole, it looked more like a punch or something. Which meant either bullies or a bad family. Both he could fix with a bit of effort. Or a lot of effort. 

So he stuck close to Shinso, trying not to let the other boy out of his sight just to make sure it wasn’t bullies. 

It wasn’t, so once the day ended, Shikamaru figured he’d have to walk Shinso home to check. 

“Can I walk home with you?” Shikamaru asked, falling into step beside Shinso and not really open to taking no as an answer. 

Shinso just shrugged, keeping up the trend of not speaking for today. Shikamaru took that as a yes and continued walking with him. 

The way Shinso flinched when a woman came out of the house Shikamaru assumed was his, paling at the sight of the black thing in her hand, made a bad home most likely. He’d kindly inform his mother and possibly the authorities soon. 

They approached, and Shinso wilted in on himself as they did, but stood unprotesting when she strapped the thing onto his face. A muzzle. A too tight one too. It looked like it was digging into his face and head, which couldn’t be healthy. 

The lady shoved him inside, and when Shinso glanced back at Shikamaru, he spotted a thin line of blood making its way down the muzzle. Troublesome. He’d deal with it today then. 

“You really shouldn’t be hanging out with the likes of him,” she sneered at him. “You could do far better.” 

“Oh I’m sure I really couldn’t,” Shikamaru replied evenly, watching her face redden in anger. “Afterall, what other person would accept someone who’s quirkless as a friend?” He was quirkless when it suited him. The quirk was just another tool in his arsenal afterall, only some people needed to know about it. 

She sneered at him then. “Well then, see if I care, useless quirkless scum.” She turned to go back inside the house, tossing her final comment over her shoulder. “After all, rot calls to rot. Figures you two would end up together. A villain and a useless person. Typical.” 

Shikamaru watched her go, eyes half lidded. Wonderful. He could charge her for quirkless discrimination now too. This would go wonderfully. First, convincing his mother to let him have another sibling. Then taking it to the police. 

“Mother,” Shikamaru said as he got home, leaving his shoes by the door, and hanging up his bag on the appropriate hook. “If I said my new friend was being badly abused how would you respond?” 

Inko poked her head out of the kitchen. “I’m going to assume that’s not rhetorical and tell you to put your shoes back on. I’ll finish the vegetables and put them in containers for a snack while we talk to the police about it.” 

“Thank you,” Shikamaru said, turning and putting his shoes back on. 

“Of course dear,” she replied from the kitchen. “I’ll be a minute.” 

Ten or so minutes later, and they walked into the police office. 

“I’d like to report child abuse as well as quirk and quirkless discrimination,” Inko said, a sweet smile firmly on her face. Shikamaru knew it to be her ‘someone is going to die’ face. It was great. 

One of the detectives approached. “I’ll handle it. If you’ll come with me?” 

They ended up in an office. 

“I am Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, and my quirk is lie detector. I’m legally required to inform you of this because it cannot be turned off.” 

Inko inclined her head. “I am Inko Midoriya, and this is my son Izuku Midoriya. It was brought to my attention by my son that his friend…” She trailed off for a moment, glancing at Shikamaru. 

“Hitoshi Shinso,” he volunteered. “He came to school with a large bruise across his jaw so first I stuck next to him at school to ensure it wasn’t bullies, then walked him home.” 

Tsukauchi nodded for him to continue, so Shikamaru did. “Upon reaching his house, a woman I believe is either his mother or foster mother depending on if he’s in the system, called out to him. He flinched and went pale, although still approached.” Shikamaru took a deep breath, looking the detective right in the eye. “Once we were on the front steps she muzzled Hitoshi and tried to send him inside. As he was going inside he looked back at me and I saw blood from the muzzle digging into his skin.” 

“And the discrimination?” Tsukauchi checked, writing it down. 

“She proceeded to inform me that I shouldn’t be hanging out with ‘the likes of him’ and that ‘I could do much better.” Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly at the memory. He couldn’t be completely emotionless after all, this wasn’t a mission report. “I mentioned I was quirkless, then she proceeded to call me useless quirkless scum and also called Shinso a villain.” 

Inko gasped, not having heard the full story before. Tsukauchi didn’t look horrified, but the minute tremors in his hand holding the pen were enough to clue Shikamaru in on that he was not pleased. 

“Thank you for telling me,” Tsukauchi said, tapping papers on his desk. “Ms Midoriya, if I could have your phone number to inform you should we find anything?” 

She quickly wrote it down on the offered slip of paper. “I have foster certifications from before I had Izuku, they should still be up to date, should the child need to be moved, I would be happy to take him.” 

“We’ll keep that in mind,” he said kindly. “You can go back to your dinners, I don’t want to keep you.” 

Inko got the look in her eye that meant she was going to extend her mothering to someone else. “As I don’t think you’ll be leaving the office any time soon, I will leave these for you to eat,” she said firmly, pulling out the yet untouched container of vegetables. “Take some time to eat, even if you cannot go home.” 

He blinked at it, then huffed. “Alright. I’ll be sure to wash and bring back the container if you so insist.” 

“I do,” she replied firmly. “Come Izuku, we should be getting to our dinner and leave the nice detective to his work.” 

Shikamaru hummed, getting up and following his mother out. He nodded politely to the detective as they left. 

“That went well,” Inko decided as the left. “Now, why don’t we just pick up some take out and watch a movie.” 

“Sounds good,” Shikamaru replied tiredly, yawning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was wrong, there is more chapters. I almost completely forgot that Shinso would probably have issues with either home or bullies. So now we have these chapters. Enjoy them. Then we’ll move onto UA. And everything that comes with it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, that’s Shikamaru for you… He wouldn’t admit it, but he has unofficially adopted Shinso now. They’ll be good friends. Don’t really expect more chapters about the time before UA haha, I’m trying to get there quickly because I have plans for Hosu dangit. Come see my discord server with the code pnQAF39, we’re pretty quiet but I try and be active pretty regularly. I’m on discord a lot anyway.


End file.
